[ Zhongde ] climbed out of the ruins and shouted earnestly:
"Guide, the basement area has been cleared. We defeated one priest, but he was taken by a special plant."
You did a great job.
Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, Ed said confidently:
"Follow me now, sweep through the entire church, and rendezvous with the various squads!"
"Yes!"
There are nearly twenty priests in the White Wax Town Church. In a head-on confrontation, each priest is confident that he can handle at least three or four players without any level.
In this near-urban warfare situation, the defenders had an almost overwhelming confidence in their tactics. Each of them could handle a tactical squad, and if they were in pairs defending a point, they were virtually invincible.
But the players' tactics seemed to have completely exceeded their expectations...
The left side of the first floor of the church is the corridor.
Looking at the empty corridor in front of him, [ Dawn Ah ] swallowed hard and murmured:
"I don't believe there aren't any secret mechanisms here."
[ Backstabbing Expert ] asked:
"Then shall I go and wade into these muddy waters?"
[ Do Some Farm Work ]: "I'm fine with going, just remember to help me retrieve the corpse."
During their argument, the two-meter-tall [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] had already shoved their shoulders apart.
"This is easy, I'll do it."
"Dude, you're talking like that now, are you really okay?"
"It's okay, next time, remember to dilute it with water."
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] His body was burning hot and his breathing was heavy, as if he would collapse at any moment, but before he collapsed, he seemed capable of destroying everything.
The [ Evergreen Tree ] nodded somewhat awkwardly.
"Okay, if there's a next time..."
After reaching a consensus, [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] strode towards the seemingly safe corridor in front of him. After only two steps, his right knee was pierced through by a thin wooden splinter that shot out from the wall.
He glanced down, pulled out the long thorn as if nothing had happened, crushed it to pieces, and continued forward.
The corridor was indeed riddled with traps set by the priests: cone-shaped wooden stakes in the walls, nail boards hidden under the Boston Ivy on the ground, and snares that could be concealed anywhere...
[ Dawn Ah ] watched him navigate through all the traps from behind, feeling as if [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], like playing Tomb Raider with invincibility enabled...
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] relied on his stats to solve all the problems in front of him without using any tricks or strategies, and finally grabbed a terrified man at the corner of the corridor.
"You are... Dragonborn! You have violated the non-aggression pact!"
The priest exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the tall warrior in front of him.
"Go tell Seraphina."
[ Dawn Ah ], who had caught up with the priest, made a sarcastic remark, then watched as the priest was sent flying by a punch from [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ].
The Dragonborn stepped forward, picked up the priest who hadn't yet regained his footing, grabbed his head, and slammed it against the stone wall of the corridor beside him.
"Here, let me give you a scrub!"
As he spoke, he pressed the priest's head down and began to slide it along the rough wall.
Amid the priest's agonizing screams, the skin on his face was rapidly rubbed away, followed by muscle, and then bone...
Just as [ Dawn Ah ] was about to ask his somewhat deranged companion to spare the man's life, countless Boston Ivy roots suddenly sprouted from the cracks in the wall.
The surface of those plant tissues seemed to be covered with invisible suckers or hairs, which, once they appeared, firmly locked onto the priest's moving flesh.
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] His hand movements paused only slightly, and when he turned his head, he saw the priest being pulled into the rock wall behind him by countless roots and branches.
"What... what's going on?"
"[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ]" exclaimed in shock, while the other four shook their heads.
They didn't know what was going on, but they knew that it wouldn't be their turn to act for the next three hours.
Just as the group was about to continue their exploration, they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw Ed leading two small teams and several NPCs.
"How's the battle going here?"
[ The Backstabbing Expert ] jumped out and answered:
"Report, the priest guarding this corridor has been defeated, but his body..."
"It was stolen?"
"... Yes."
Ed nodded:
"Return to the ranks, join us in continuing the sweep and reunite with more comrades. Even tougher battles lie ahead."
"Yes!"
The stairs are on the right side of the first floor of the church.
A priest was crouching in a blind spot upstairs that most people would overlook.
The footsteps from his side were getting closer and closer, and he felt his heart beating faster and faster.
Why is this happening?
I used to think I was used to bloodshed, used to the flying flesh and blood, but now that I think about it, even if I don't want to face it, I have to admit that I'm actually just used to committing violence.
He could act recklessly against those Fragility experimental subjects, but he would instinctively feel fear when facing those who had the ability, or even the possibility of having the ability, to resist him.
Just like the days when the Number Three test subject escaped, he suffered from insomnia almost every night, and this was even more so after the death of the former bishop...
The priests had already heard the sounds of battle not far away, but unlike their companions, they dared not confront the invaders head-on, instead hiding in corners to launch sneak attacks.
Meanwhile, the footsteps and voices around me grew closer.
"The staircase here is so quiet, I haven't seen anyone..."
As a slightly younger man spoke, he had already turned his back perfectly to the priest.
Now!
The priest leaped out, his hands transforming into short blades, and thrust both arms forward to strike the left and right sides of [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ].
Pfft!
The chilling sound of flesh being pierced was accompanied by the bewildered exclamation of [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ]:
"Holy crap, how did my health bar suddenly drop so much?"
"Idiot, you've been ambushed!"
Realizing what was happening, [ Zhong Lele ] stepped back while explaining the situation to the idiot.
"Oh, that explains why I suddenly couldn't walk. I turned off all pain sensitivity, and I didn't feel anything!"
The dagger at his waist was still moving in and out, but [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ], who felt no pain at all, had already turned around and elbowed the priest in the temple.
The priest was stunned by the elbow strike, his vision blurred, and he looked down in disbelief to see that [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ]'s waist and abdomen had been cut open by his repeated thrusts and the opponent's twisting blow that ignored the pain.
Those pink, tender, hard, and soft things are popping and crackling out of that opening.
How could this be?!
How could he bear to attack me in such pain?!
The priest drew his twin swords, and [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ] collapsed, exhausted.
"Help me, bro~"
He groaned weakly, then began to pick up the spilled parts from the ground and try to put them back in the same way.
On the other side, [ Zhong Lele ] disdainfully tossed over an already activated Vine Bandage Pack:
"I already said, not searching for points completely is the same as not searching for points at all. Look at your back, I don't even want to talk to you."
"I was wrong, there really won't be a next time."
"It doesn't matter, you'll still be the one to go first and clear the landmines next time anyway."